Fearful city folk brace for soaking

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Fearful city folk brace for soaking

Efforts to drive water to east, west of capital fail

Published: 25/10/2011 at 11:26 AM
Newspaper section: News

Bangkok residents are living in fear as the authorities have been unsuccessful in trying to divert northern runoff to the east and west of the capital.

Roadturns to river A road opposite Pata shopping mall in Bang Phlat district floods after the Chao Phraya River surged in the evening. The road is impassible to small vehicles. PAWAT LAOPAISARNTAKSIN

About 4,000 million cubic metres of flood water from Ayutthaya is expected to reach Bangkok tomorrow, Deputy Bangkok Governor Pornthep Techapaiboon said yesterday.

Relate Search: flood, Bangkok, BMA, Sukhumbhand

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Writer: Pradit Ruangdit, Wassana Nanuam & Amornrat Mahitthirook

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spiceman
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Discussion 27 : 26/10/2011 at 04:12 AM27
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Khun Tomylee #24, "questionable?" Really? Can't you tell the difference between all the flooding in the past, and this Mother of all Floods?
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spiceman
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Discussion 26 : 26/10/2011 at 01:58 AM26
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Khun Tommylee #24, with forests in the north pretty much gone, the dams are the only things left to ensure that Thailand's agricultural plain has enough water throughout the year. So, I can understand when those bureaucrats were occasionally off in their calculation to ensure that the dams ended up being filled to their full capacity when the monsoon was over. However, looking a the data, this year the dams were filled to their full capacity early, at least two months before the late monsoon rain hit, and why it hit, the data of the amount of water released spiked up in a straight line on the chart, at least ten times higher than data from all past years. The numbers don't lie and I hope someone will be held responsible to explain it.
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hillbilly1
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Discussion 25 : 25/10/2011 at 08:41 PM25
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by seeing all the photos of flooding places, animals and temples its a very sad photos too see... if Thai's is willing to be Thai's just settle all our different aside and work together from all those past years from both party's and work together on how to make Thailand a Land of a beautiful smile a greater place to live just as a simple life of a Buddhist Monk....this is a wake up call for us Thai's to all come together as one now and after this flooding crises is over so what will there be left of Thai's except the people of Thailand... how we be will only show and teach our young one of how to be as they grow up to be towards other....
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tommylee
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Discussion 24 : 25/10/2011 at 07:31 PM24
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@D20spiceman: It is questionable that the Irrigation Department bureaucrats “had been doing a decent job in the past years”. During last year’s October flooding of mainly the Northeast, then Finance Minister Khun Korn Chatikavanij of the AV Dems administration, attributed the disaster to a man-made cause: water mismanagement by the some 30 government agencies spread over some 5 ministries with a budget of 30 bn baht, not coordinating with each other. There have been similar major disasters before last year’s floods as well, when, 8-10 years ago, the opening of the same dam, Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong Dam, led to the swelling of the Moon River system and the devastation of housing estates, villages and farms. It is also questionable whether these same bureaucrats would take any orders from the new government, anyway.
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englishbob
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Discussion 23 : 25/10/2011 at 06:13 PM23
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Disc 17 - But Mr Phillips... Your extensive survey of how Thailand feels is limited to talking with your friends. By virtue of being your friends they are likely to have the same point of view as you. (BTW How COULD they be worse? Only Khun Sukhumbhand knows what he's doing and he ain't PT!)

My friends and colleagues would surely agree with me that the deforestation, poor farming methods and up-country mismanagement have resulted in this torrent of water heading down towards Bangkok. Perhaps if Red MPs and their constituents had taken better care of the land, this wouldn't be happening now... Or is that also Bangkok's fault?
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bubbs
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Discussion 22 : 25/10/2011 at 06:03 PM22
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Disc 19, another great intellectual comment from you, i really appreciate your posts as they are so enlightening and full of vision and candour
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bkk-farang
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Discussion 21 : 25/10/2011 at 05:29 PM21
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@mphilips #17: Maybe Thais will recognize that the current government in as useless as many other governments before. It’s time that people vote other parties with more qualified politicians and real concepts. There are more parties then just PT and the DEMs.
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spiceman
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Discussion 20 : 25/10/2011 at 05:10 PM20
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Khun Tommylee #18, if what you said is true, can we assume that the bureaucrats at the Irrigation Department knew what they were doing and had been doing a decent job in the past years, so what changed this year?
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ianprince
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Discussion 19 : 25/10/2011 at 04:51 PM19
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This would not happen if AV is still in power. YS govt has caused all this chaos in Bangkok.
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tommylee
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Discussion 18 : 25/10/2011 at 04:20 PM18
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D4spiceman keeps asking the right questions. As to accountability: Shouldn’t the possibility also be considered that it was NOT necessarily a cabinet member of this government who gave orders to let the dams reach overcapacity and then to open up the floodgates at the peak of the monsoon season?
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